This application claims a priority date from German application DE 100 44 146.7, filed Sep. 6, 2000, and the contents of that application are incorporated by reference herein.
This invention relates to a lamp for vehicles, in particular for aircraft, of a type having a housing in which a light source is arranged, with the housing including a first housing part detachably connected to a second housing part, with the first and second housing parts being arranged coaxially to one another.
European Patent Application 0 512 380 A2 describes a lamp for vehicles having a housing containing a light source, where the housing includes a first housing part connected to a support plate and a second housing part arranged coaxially with and detachable from the first housing part. To connect the first and second housing parts, a latching device is provided, having latching elements with a plurality of latching projections or latching cams arranged in the axial direction. This mechanism for joining housing parts has been basically successful, but it has the disadvantage that the housing must be assembled from a front side and a rear side of a support plate at an opening in the support plate provided for the lamp. It has been found that it is relatively time-consuming to mount the first housing part and the second housing part from different directions of assembly on the support plate, which usually extends in the vertical direction. Furthermore, this type of assembly means that one housing part must always be arranged to protrude from the front side of the support plate. This is not always desirable for optical reasons.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to improve upon a lamp for vehicles such that assembly complexity is reduced.
According to principles of this invention a light-source-containing housing for a lamp for a vehicle, in particular for an aircraft, includes a first housing part and a second housing part that are detachably, coaxially, joined together, with each of the first and second housing parts having at least one projection extending away from an edge thereof in the axial direction on a side facing the other housing part, with the projections of each housing part inter-engaging in a corresponding recess of the other housing part. Each projection has a retaining nose protruding radially, transverse to the axil direction, to form a groove there between into which a securing element can be inserted to retain the first housing part relative to the second housing part by clamping therein.
A particular advantage of this invention is that the structure of the projections and recesses in conjunction with the retaining noses protruding in the transverse direction, allows a simple method of joining the first and second housing parts. The first and second housing parts are joined together in a form-fitting manner, with the retaining noses that protrude laterally from the projections forming bordering walls and, with partial sections of the projections, forming a groove to receive the securing element. In the assembled position, this securing element engages both the projections of the first housing part and the second housing part, thus assuring a secure connection. Reliability in assembly is further increased by the fact that a person performing the assembly can discern unambiguously a desired assembly status on the basis of a position of the securing element.
According to a refinement of this invention, the first and second housing parts each has a plurality of projections distributed peripherally so that, in an assembled configuration, the edges of the first and second housing parts engage one another in a claw-like manner. In this way, assembly of the first and second housing parts into a proper position is advantageously simplified.
According to a preferred embodiment of this invention, a clearance spacing between the retaining noses, arranged to be offset from one another in the axial direction of the housing parts, is adapted to a diameter of the securing element, so that a compressing force which holds the first and second housing parts together in a rattle-free manner always acts in the axial direction.
According to another embodiment of this invention, each of the retaining noses, on a side facing the securing element, has an inclined surface such that the groove tapers in the direction of projection of the nose. In this way, secure locking of the first and second housing parts is made possible even when there are deviations from tolerances of the securing element, with an unambiguous seating of the securing element in the groove being assured by a length of the inclined surface, which is adapted to the diameter of the securing element.